The
emergency contraception ping-pong game seems to have ended in a
resounding win for women’s health. Following a recent court order, the
Obama Administration has announced that it will fully comply with
allowing emergency contraception over the counter without age
restrictions.
For
years, ACOG and other women’s health partners have been advocating for
over the counter access to emergency contraception without age
restrictions. We know all too well that time is of the essence for
females facing the possibility of an unintended pregnancy. And
unrestricted access to contraceptives is key to reducing abortions.
We
agreed with the Food and Drug Administration when it ruled for over the
counter access and we opposed Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ decision to include an age limit to OTC
access. ACOG has been working with the advocacy community to overturn
Sebelius’ decision.
We
had good news recently when a panel of the 2nd Circuit Appeals Court
ruled that the two pill variant, including Next Choice and other
levonorgestral tablets, must be made immediately available over the
counter without age restrictions. We had better news soon after when the
White House announced that it would give up its insistence on age
restrictions and allow the FDA to move forward in the direction that
science has pointed to all along.
This
decision to increase access to over the counter contraception is a
powerful one because in spite of our efforts to be there all the time
for our patients, decisions impacting long term health will happen
WITHOUT our presence. It is so important to make contraception easily
available, to remove barriers.
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